Retractable safety marker

ABSTRACT

A retractable safety marker is a device designed to provide motorists with advance warning of disabled vehicles and/or work zone areas. The device has been designed to withstand reasonable winds through the use of two base supports, a retractable support element and a partially reflectorized casing made from a porous cloth or nylon type material. The retractable arms allow for the device to easily expand to height consist with traffic engineering design standards when in operation and then compact when it is in storage. The two base supports are design not only to provide the necessary structural stability but to also open (when in use) and close (when in storage) about the retractable support element thus providing for additional compactness.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This application relates to means of alerting motorists to the presence of disabled vehicles or work zone areas. Each year hundreds of motorists are either killed or injured along side the roadway. Many of these accidents may be prevented if the oncoming motorist had advance warning of the presence of these disabled vehicles.

[0002] While this has long been recognized as a traffic safety problem many needless deaths continue to happen every year. Current methods of enhancing motorist awareness include; flares, solid plastic cones and retractable triangles. While all devices may accomplish the same goal as the presented invention, the presented invention is designed to help eliminate current difficulties encountered with their use. With roadside flares there is the inherent short fall that they only last a given period of time and are nor reusable. In addition, they are usually only several inches above the roadway service and may present difficulty in operating. Solid plastic cones are easy to place along the roadway however, unless they are properly weighted and sized they may be displaced due to strong gusts of winds. In addition, the larger the cones the more storage space that is required. This is a disadvantage (especially in small passenger vehicles) and therefore reduces their attractiveness of the use. Retractable triangles are difficult to open and may require the motorist to follow detailed instruction prior to use. In addition they also take a significant amount of space when stored. Therefore the presented invention is designed to help eliminate shortfalls with the current devices. It is envisioned that by increasing the attractiveness, more people will carry the devices in their vehicles and a decrease in roadside fatalities and injuries would result.

[0003] The Retractable Safety Marker has been designed to be employ easily, store compactly, withstand prevailing winds and be economical.

[0004] The Retractable Safety Marker is a combination of four pieces. The first two pieces are referenced to as the base supports. The third piece is a retractable support element and the fourth piece is a casing.

[0005] The two base supports are intended to provide the necessary weight to ensure that the device is not displaced under reasonable wind loads. Each base support also has several strategically placed holes and slots. The base support is primarily a rectangular type box with the top end and one of the sides open. The long sides of the base support contain a combination of a hole and a slot adjacent to the “open” end of the box. These holes and slots are designed to allow the base support to be affixed to the upper tabs of the lower portion of the retractable support element.

[0006] The third piece is a retractable support element consisting of two retractable arms that are connected to a lower portion and an upper portion. The retractable arms are intended to function in a manner similar to that of a periscoping antenna. The lower portion of the retractable support element contains four protruding tabs on each side. The upper holes on the two base supports are inserted into the upper protruding tabs of the retractable support element, thus connecting the base supports and the retractable support element. When the base supports are in the open position (parallel to the lower portion), the lower slots on the base support are held in a stable position by the lower tabs on the retractable support element. The lower portion of the retractable support element also contains a raised feature with a continuos indentation encircling the retractable arms. The purpose of this feature is to allow the lower portion of the casing to be held in a fixed position. The upper portion of the retractable support element also contains a continues indentation which allows the upper portion of the casing to be held in fixed position.

[0007] The fourth piece of the present invention is a casing. The casing is made of a porous cloth or nylon type material similar to netting. The porous material is to allow for the wind to pass through the device thus significantly diminishing the total wind load. The casing itself maybe made partially of reflectorized material and is sized to coincide with the length of the retractable arms in the expanded position. The casing also consists of rubber bands or other similar type devices contained within each end. The casing is held in place by inserting the rubber-banded ends into the continues indentations on the upper and lower portions of the retractable support element.

[0008] The Retractable Safety Marker has been designed for easy placement during emergency situations. The first step in the application process is to rotate the two base supports from the closed to the open position (parallel with the lower portion of the retractable support element). Once the base supports are in a fully extended position, the tabs on the lower portion of the retractable support element in combination of the holes and slots on the base supports are designed to provide the necessary stability. After the base support is fixed in the open position, the arms of the retractable support element (which are in the contracted position) are then expanded by simply pulling in a vertical manner the upper portion of the retractable support element away from the lower portion. This is continued until the retractable arms are in fully extended position. At this point the invention is ready for application.

BREIF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The subject matter which is regarded as the present invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. The invention, however, both as to organization and method of practice, may be best understood by reference to the detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0010]FIG. 1. Illustrates a plan view of the invention in the expanded and open position.

[0011]FIG. 2. Illustrates a plan view of the invention in the expanded and open position without the casing.

[0012]FIG. 3. Illustrates a side view of the invention in the expanded and open position without the casing.

[0013]FIG. 4. Illustrates a side view of the invention in the contracted and open position without the casing.

[0014]FIG. 5. Illustrates a side view of the invention in the contracted and closed position without the casing.

[0015]FIG. 6. Illustrates a plan view of the invention in the contracted and closed position.

[0016]FIG. 7. Illustrates a plan view of the retractable support element in the expanded position.

[0017]FIG. 8. Illustrates a plan view of the retractable support element in the contracted position.

[0018]FIG. 9. Illustrates a side view of the retractable support element in the contracted position.

[0019]FIG. 10. Illustrates a plan view of the base support.

[0020]FIG. 11. Illustrates a top view of the base support.

[0021]FIG. 12. Illustrates a side view of the base support.

[0022]FIG. 13. Illustrates a plan view of the casing

[0023]FIG. 14. Illustrates a side view of the casing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the base support (1) is attached to the retractable support element (2). FIG. 1 illustrates the present invention in the expanded and open position with the casing (3) placed and affixed over the retractable support element (2).

[0025]FIG. 7 illustrates a plan view of the retractable support element (2). As illustrated in FIG. 7, the retractable support element contains 2 retractable arms (4), an upper portion (5) and a lower portion (6). The upper portion (5) of the retractable support element (2) contains a continues indentation encircling its width that allows the upper portion of the casing (3) to be held in a fixed position. The lower portion (6) of the retractable support element (2) contains a raised feature with a continues indentation encircling the retractable arms (4). The purpose of this feature is to allow the lower portion of the casing (3) to be held in a fixed position. The lower portion of the retractable support element (2) also contains four protruding tabs (7) on each side. This feature is illustrated in FIG's 7, 8 and 9. The purpose of these protruding tabs (7) is to allow the base support (1) to be affixed to the retractable support element (2) and allow for and opening and closing of the base supports. FIG. 5 illustrates the invention in the retracted and closed position. FIG. 4 illustrates the invention in the retracted and open position. The base support (1) rotates about the upper protruding tabs (7) of the lower portion (6) of the retractable support element (2)

[0026]FIG. 10 illustrates a plan view of the base support (1). As illustrated in FIG's 10, 11 and 12 the base support (1) is rectangular type shaped element with the top and one of the narrow sides missing. As illustrated in FIG. 12, the sides of the base support (1) have a pre-cut hole along the top half and a pre-cut slot along the bottom half. In operation, the upper pre-cut holes on the top portion of the base supports (1) are directly inserted into the upper protruding tabs (7) on the lower portion (6) of the retractable support element (2). FIG. 3 illustrates the interconnection of the lower pre-cut slots on the base support (1) and the lower tabs on the lower portion of the retractable support element (7) when the invention is in the open position. The combination of the lower tabs on the lower portion of the retractable support element and the lower slots on the base support comprise a press-fit type of bonding mechanism, which is intended to ensure the invention stays in the open position when necessary

[0027]FIG. 13 illustrates a plan view of the casing (3). The casing (3) also consists of rubber bands or other similar type devices contained within its lower and upper ends (8,9). In practice, the casing is held in place by inserting the rubber banded ends (8,9) into the continues indentations on the upper and lower portions of the retractable support element (5,6).

[0028] While a presently preferred embodiment of my invention is disclosed in this specification it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the preferred embodiments disclosed but has the breadth of the appended claims. 

What is claimed:
 1. A retractable safety marker comprising: two base supports that are rectangularly shaped with the top and one of the short sides open, the long sides of the base support containing a combination of a hole in its upper portion and a slot in its lower portion on the side adjacent to the “open” end of the box.; a single retractable support element comprised of a upper portion which has a continuous indentation encircling its width, two retractable arms, a lower portion consisting of a continuous indentation encircling the base of the two retractable arms and four protruding tabs at its sides; a semi-rectangular shaped casing made of a porous material, with a rubber-band type elements affixed within its upper and lower ends;.
 2. The device of claim 1 wherein the retractable support element is made from separate upper portions, retractable arms and lower portions. The unit is joined by connecting the two retractable arms into pre-made holes in the upper and lower portions by press-fit.
 3. The device of claim 1 wherein the retractable support element is made from separate upper portions, retractable arms and lower portions. The unit is joined by connecting the retractable arms into pre-made holes in the upper and lower portions by a combination of threads.
 4. The device of claim 1 wherein the casing attaches to the retractable support element by use of velcro.
 5. The device of claim 2 wherein the casing attaches to the upper and lower portions by use of velcro 